The Little Polar Bear
The Little Polar Bear (in ) is a franchise about a polar bear cub named Lars who first starred in a number of books written by Dutch author, Hans de Beer. The first of several animated adaptations of the books is a Japanese original video animation, released on April 28, 1990, with animation production by I.G Tatsunoko (now known as Production I.G). It later became an animated TV series for BBC TV, ''Lars, der kleine Eisbär, in the 1990s. The show proved to be popular in Germany, but its English-dubbed version (titled The Little Polar Bear) had also gained a cult following with UK viewers. The show was later revived between 2001 and 2003. For its first film, subtitled Der Kinofilm, Warner Bros. and animation studio Rothkirch Cartoon Film bought the rights to adapt the children's books into a feature-length film, released in 2001. Following the success of the feature, several direct-to-video features were released, one of the new characters included was a tiger cub. In 2005, another film, The Little Polar Bear 2: The Mysterious Island ( ) was released and also proved successful. The score to The Little Polar Bear (1) was composed by Nigel Clarke & Michael Csanyi-Wills and recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and was nominated for several awards. Original BBC TV series adaptation In the mid-1990s there was a TV adaptation for the BBC, featuring the voice talents of Susan Sheridan and Jimmy Hibbert. The Animation of the series was by Sinan Gungor Voices *Susan Sheridan - Lars, Lena, Peeps, Mummy Polar Bear, *Jimmy Hibbert - Daddy Polar Bear, various male voices Characters *Lars - the little polar bear, main character of the show *Frieda, Lars' mother *Mika, Lars' father *Lena - the Arctic hare *Peeps - the snow goose *Brownie Brown Bear Episodes Film The Little Polar Bear is a 2001 German-American film based on the books of the same name. It is directed by Piet De Rycker and Thilo Rothkirch and produced by Willi Geike. The film was distributed in Germany by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment and was released in German on 4 October 2001. Warner Bros also produced an English dub of the movie that was released in America and Britain in 2003. Sequels *The Little Polar Bear: Lars and the Little Tiger (2002) *The Little Polar Bear: The Dream of Flying (2002) *The Little Polar Bear: Nanouk's Rescue (2003) *The Little Polar Bear: A Visitor from the South Pole (2004) *''The Little Polar Bear: The Mysterious Island'' (2005) Voice cast Additional English Voices *Daran Norris ... Brutus *Neil Kaplan ... Bert *Tom Fahn ... Boris *Rebecca Forstadt ... Anna *Steve Blum ... Henry *Mari Devon ... Nina *Edie Mirman ... Grandmother *Steve Bulen ... Other *Richard Cansino ... Other *Melora Harte ... Other Voices in Brazil *Cáio César ...Lars *Charles Emmanuel...Robby *Luísa Palomanes...Greta References External links * * * * * * *Original Score: Nigel Clarke & Michael Csanyi Wills Category:1990 anime OVAs Category:Production I.G Category:Single OVAs Category:1992 German television series debuts Category:1990s German television series Category:2000s German television series Category:German animated television series Category:German-language television programs Category:British television programmes based on children's books Category:Television shows set in the Arctic Category:Das Erste television series Category:1994 British television series debuts Category:1994 British television series endings Category:1990s British children's television series Category:German children's literature Category:2001 films Category:2001 animated films Category:German animated films Category:British animated films Category:German children's films Category:German films Category:German-language films Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Warner Bros. animated films Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Films set in the Arctic Category:Animated films based on children's books Category:Bears in literature Category:Animated films about bears Category:Films about polar bears Category:Films set in Alaska Category:Films set in Canada Category:English-language films Category:Warner Bros. Family Entertainment films